World news in brief, 6/29

Rebels captured a major army post Friday in the southern city of Daraa after nearly two weeks of intense fighting, as battles raged between troops and opposition forces in the province that borders Jordan, activists said.

Daraa, the provincial capital of a region that carries the same name, is the birthplace of the uprising against President Bashar Assad that started 27 months ago. Rebels hope to one day launch an offensive from the area to take the capital, Damascus.

The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, which has a network of activists around the country, said Islamic militants led by members of the al-Qaida affiliate Jabhat Al-Nusra, or the Nusra Front, captured the checkpoint after a two-week siege.

Dominican Republic

U.S. ambassador nominee rejected

SANTO DOMINGO — Religious groups in the Dominican Republic say they are outraged by the nomination of a gay U.S. ambassador to the conservative Caribbean country.

James "Wally" Brewster would be the seventh U.S. ambassador in history to be openly gay, but opponents Friday asked the administration of Dominican President Danilo Medina to reject his nomination.

Without elaborating, Vicar Pablo Cedano said the nomination showed a lack of respect and warned that Brewster will have a hard time on the island "and be forced to leave."

U.S. Embassy spokesman Daniel Foote said in a brief statement to reporters that Brewster was nominated because of his skills as an international businessman.

Senegal

President defends anti-gay law

DAKAR — Senegalese President Macky Sall has defended his refusal to decriminalize homosexuality one day after publicly clashing with President Barack Obama on the issue at a joint news conference.

Sall said it was important for other countries to refrain from imposing their values beyond their borders. He compared his position on homosexuality to other countries' positions on polygamy, which is widely practiced in Senegal.

Senegal's penal code calls for prison sentences of up to five years and fines of up to $3,000 for committing "an improper or unnatural act with a person of the same sex."

Brunei

North Korea may be ignored at forum

BANDAR SERI BEGAWAN — The upcoming regional security summit in this tiny Southeast Asian sultanate is the sort of venue where North Korea often has managed to open up sideline discussions with Seoul and Washington. This time, while there will be plenty of talk about Pyongyang, there is little chance of substantive talk with it.

North Korea has sought negotiations with the U.S. and South Korea but has ignored their demands that it first honor prior commitments to move toward nuclear disarmament.

North Korea can expect the cold shoulder from those countries and others frustrated by Pyongyang's insistence on developing nuclear weapons.